17. CONFESSION IS GOOD FOR THE SOUL |
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Have you ever thought about the importance of your name? In some places a name is just a name and it has no meaning or the meaning was lost. But in Turkey most people’s names have a meaning. The name conveys some message or characteristic of the person. Or maybe it describes the type of person your parents wanted you to be. How important is your name to you and do you try to live up to it's meaning?
On June 21, 1934 the Turkish Parliament passed the Surname Law. According to this law every Turkish citizen was required to have a surname. Before this law, the lack of official surnames made business and social interactions were very confusing. Instead of a last name, people were using their father’s name, the name of their hometown, their occupation, or a nickname. For example, Demirci Ali or Mehmet Osmanoğlu. You can only imagine how many Osmanoğlus there were! If you had lived back then, what surname would you have chosen? Perhaps a conversation might have gone like this:
“Ismail, what surname will you choose for yourself?”
“I don’t know. I’ve been thinking about it. I haven’t come up with one yet. What do you think my surname should be?”
“I think your surname should be tea-drinker because that is all you ever do!”
Ismail threw a sugar cube at his friend Emin and laughed.
"Yeah, well what are you doing over there with that teaspoon, chopping wood?”
Actually the law said that the last name could not be funny or comical. Furthermore, it stated that a person’s rank or government position, foreign last names, and last names that indicated a foreign nationality would not be accepted. The last name had to be Turkish.
“Ismail,” Emin became more serious and said, “Why don’t you call yourself Yılmaz? You were very brave in the war. You were always at the front line in the battles. You aren’t afraid of anything. Do you remember when that wild pig came into your garden and you charged towards it? That thing was so scared of you it turned and ran off. Your name should be Yılmaz.”
Yes, a name can convey a deep meaning about our character and our personality. It can also carry significance about something we have done.
On November 24, 1934 another law was passed in Turkey. It also had to do with a last name, but this time is was an honorary last name. In commemoration for all that he had done for his country, Gazi Mustafa Kemal Paşa was given the last name Atatürk. He had freed his people from the threats of colonialism and became the father of a new nation. He himself said that his greatest accomplishment was the foundation of the Republic.
In another law that same year, the expressions and titles of the old society “Ağa, Hacı, Hafız, Hoca, Molla, Efendi, Paşa” were forbidden. It was also decided that except for medals given for the Independence War, the use of Ottoman ranks and honors would cease to be used. The Turkish people had begun a new era and the old era was to be left behind. Turkey was a new nation on a new path. Everything was going to be different and the new names and titles demonstrated the change that had taken place. And that brings us to our story in the Bible.
Abraham's grandson Jacob also had an interesting name. If you recall from an earlier lesson, he was the second born of twins. When he came out of the womb his hand was holding on to the heel of his older brother Esau. Just as Emin wanted to give the name Yilmaz to Ismail because of his bravery, Jacob was given his name because he was "grasping the heel” of his brother. But, in addition to "grasping the heel", his name also has a figurative meaning. Jacob also means “supplanter”, that is one who takes another’s office or position by scheming, force or strategy. And unfortunately, Jacob lived up to this figurative meaning. If you will recall in the previous lesson, we read how Jacob deceived his father and received the blessing instead of his older brother. He literally became a schemer and a usurper.
After this deceptive act, Jacob fled from his brother Esau and went to the home of his uncle Laban in Haran. The traditional site of Haran is south of Şanlıurfa in present-day Turkey. He must have repented from his unrighteous actions because one night the Lord spoke to Jacob in a dream and assured him that he would never be left alone. But more importantly, God honored the covenant he had made with Abraham and Isaac and renewed it with Jacob.
To say that Jacob's life was carefree and easy going after he arrived at his relative’s house would not be true. There is a saying in life, "you reap what you sow." Well Jacob sowed deception and he ended up reaping it. Jacob wanted to marry Rachel, the younger of Laban's two daughters. But after working 7 years for her dowry, Laban tricked him into marrying the oldest. Jacob was enraged but Laban conceded and allowed Jacob to marry the youngest as well. But he had to work an additional 7 years for her dowry too. Over the years and in spite of Laban continually trying to deceive Jacob in their business affairs, God continued to bless Jacob. He had children and became quite wealthy in flocks and herds. One day God told him to return to his home country. But Jacob was very scared because he didn’t know if Esau was still angry. What if he still wanted to kill Jacob? What would happen to his family? Like his grandfather did many years before, he obeyed the Lord and started going home. Lets start reading the story in Genesis chapter 32 verses 1-5:
1 Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 And when Jacob saw them he said, This is God's camp! So he called the name of that place Mahanaim. 3 And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom, 4 instructing them, Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: Thus says your servant Jacob, I have sojourned with Laban and stayed until now. 5 I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male servants, and female servants. I have sent to tell my lord, in order that I may find favor in your sight.
Notice how Jacob sends the message to his older brother addressing him as “my lord.” Jacob didn't want to fight or be number one. His message was one of peace and he hoped that Esau would want the same. These verses show that Jacob had changed. The competitive young man seeking to get the upper hand of his older brother was now a mature man of God. Let's look at Esau's answer in verses 6-12:
6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to your brother Esau, and he is coming to meet you, and there are four hundred men with him. 7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed. He divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two camps, 8 thinking, If Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it, then the camp that is left will escape. 9 And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O LORD who said to me, Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good, 10 I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. 11 Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children. 12 But you said, I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.
This is definitely not the prayer of a proud and arrogant man. It is the prayer of a humble man who is understanding the price of deception and sin. It is the prayer of a repentant man. Let's continue with verses 13-24:
13 So he stayed there that night, and from what he had with him he took a present for his brother Esau, 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15 thirty milking camels and their calves, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 16 These he handed over to his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, Pass on ahead of me and put a space between drove and drove. 17 He instructed the first, When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, To whom do you belong? Where are you going? And whose are these ahead of you? 18 then you shall say, They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a present sent to my lord Esau. And moreover, he is behind us. 19 He likewise instructed the second and the third and all who followed the droves, You shall say the same thing to Esau when you find him, 20 and you shall say, Moreover, your servant Jacob is behind us. For he thought, I may appease him with the present that goes ahead of me, and afterward I shall see his face. Perhaps he will accept me. 21 So the present passed on ahead of him, and he himself stayed that night in the camp. 22 The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. 24 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.
Who was this man that began to wrestle with Jacob? What is happening here? Jacob was obviously alone, perhaps he was praying or thinking about his life when suddenly someone grabbed him. At first, he may have thought the intruder was Esau, one of his men, or a bandit. Regardless, it was dark, Jacob was attacked, and considering the day's events he was wrestling for his life. As they push, pull, and roll around, dirt and sand mix with their sweat and their arms became slippery with mud. But Jacob, no matter how hard he tried, couldn't defeat his attacker. Jacob struggled until he couldn't breathe, his lungs felt like they were on fire and his hands were trembling from holding on so long. And then something unusual happened. Let's read about it in verses 25 and 26:
25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, Let me go, for the day has broken. But Jacob said, I will not let you go unless you bless me.
This is no ordinary wrestling match. Jacob at some point in time realizes that he is wrestling with someone who is special. So special that he has the power to bless him, someone from heaven. It is hard to imagine the pain that a dislocated hip would cause, but Jacob continued to hold on to this mysterious person. Who could it have been and what is the blessing that Jacob desired? Perhaps the next thing that is said in verse 27 will answer the question.
27 And he said to him, What is your name? And he said, Jacob.
In other words, "I am the supplanter, the one who deceived my father and stole from my brother." Perhaps Jacob was feeling remorse for his sin and desiring pardon. And this was his way of admitting his sin, expressing his guilt, and asking for God's assurance that he had been forgiven. Otherwise what hope would he have that Esau would not kill him and his family. The Kitabı Mukkades does not say. But let’s read in verse 28 what the mysterious wrestler says to Jacob:
28 Then he said, Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.
This "heavenly" wrestler gave Jacob a new name, which meant “one who overcomes”. Why would this name be given to Jacob? Quite simply, Jacob had struggled for a long time. He suffered the guilt of his previous sins, the pain of being separated from his family, and the deception of his uncle. But during all those years, Jacob accepted responsibility for his actions and begged God to forgive him.
With God's help, Jacob had become a new man.
He was embarking on a new life, with a new identity, and everything about his old self was left behind. He was no longer the "supplanter" but the "overcomer." When the Turkish Republic banned the old names and titles and honors of the Ottoman Empire they too were announcing to themselves and to the world that a change had taken place and the new had replaced the old. They were acknowledging who they were and what their new names stood for.
For most of us, when we hear the name Israel it immediately reminds us of the modern country in the Middle East. But the original concept behind that name was not a political one, but rather a religious one. It signified a person who had overcome his/her sin by faith and repentance. It is true that in the Bible we will read about the “children of Israel” or the Israelites. But in each case, the name was to carry the religious meaning of “one in a covenant-relation with God by faith and repentance.” Jacob was in a covenant relation with God. He repented and God forgave him.
It may be difficult to separate in our minds modern Israel from the concept spoken of here. But God gave the name Israel to Jacob as a compliment, a badge of honor. And it was passed on to his children, and anyone from any nation, who would repent of their sins and wrestle with God for forgiveness. Lets finish the story by reading verses 29-32 in chapter 32:
29 Then Jacob asked him, Please tell me your name. But he said, Why is it that you ask my name? And there he blessed him. 30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered. 31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob's hip on the sinew of the thigh.
There once was a baby born who always smiled. So her parents gave her the name Güler. When she was little, her parents told her the story about how she got her name. After that day, whenever she was sad and someone said her name it reminded her to smile. No matter what the circumstances were, she chose to live up to her name.
After receiving a new name, Jacob probably had a similar experience. Whenever he heard the name Israel, it reminded him of God's forgiveness and his new identity. If you aren't happy with who you are and want a new name, call out to God! Maybe He has a new name for you!
Questions for Discussion:
1) Does your name have a meaning and do you think it fits your experience and personality?
2) What did you see in Jacob's character that showed he had changed?
3) Who do you think that mysterious wrestler was and why?
4) Would you take the name Israel if God gave it to you?
5) How do you "wrestle" with God? What are your struggles, unresolved questions, and deepest desires? Do you share them with God in prayer?
On June 21, 1934 the Turkish Parliament passed the Surname Law. According to this law every Turkish citizen was required to have a surname. Before this law, the lack of official surnames made business and social interactions were very confusing. Instead of a last name, people were using their father’s name, the name of their hometown, their occupation, or a nickname. For example, Demirci Ali or Mehmet Osmanoğlu. You can only imagine how many Osmanoğlus there were! If you had lived back then, what surname would you have chosen? Perhaps a conversation might have gone like this:
“Ismail, what surname will you choose for yourself?”
“I don’t know. I’ve been thinking about it. I haven’t come up with one yet. What do you think my surname should be?”
“I think your surname should be tea-drinker because that is all you ever do!”
Ismail threw a sugar cube at his friend Emin and laughed.
"Yeah, well what are you doing over there with that teaspoon, chopping wood?”
Actually the law said that the last name could not be funny or comical. Furthermore, it stated that a person’s rank or government position, foreign last names, and last names that indicated a foreign nationality would not be accepted. The last name had to be Turkish.
“Ismail,” Emin became more serious and said, “Why don’t you call yourself Yılmaz? You were very brave in the war. You were always at the front line in the battles. You aren’t afraid of anything. Do you remember when that wild pig came into your garden and you charged towards it? That thing was so scared of you it turned and ran off. Your name should be Yılmaz.”
Yes, a name can convey a deep meaning about our character and our personality. It can also carry significance about something we have done.
On November 24, 1934 another law was passed in Turkey. It also had to do with a last name, but this time is was an honorary last name. In commemoration for all that he had done for his country, Gazi Mustafa Kemal Paşa was given the last name Atatürk. He had freed his people from the threats of colonialism and became the father of a new nation. He himself said that his greatest accomplishment was the foundation of the Republic.
In another law that same year, the expressions and titles of the old society “Ağa, Hacı, Hafız, Hoca, Molla, Efendi, Paşa” were forbidden. It was also decided that except for medals given for the Independence War, the use of Ottoman ranks and honors would cease to be used. The Turkish people had begun a new era and the old era was to be left behind. Turkey was a new nation on a new path. Everything was going to be different and the new names and titles demonstrated the change that had taken place. And that brings us to our story in the Bible.
Abraham's grandson Jacob also had an interesting name. If you recall from an earlier lesson, he was the second born of twins. When he came out of the womb his hand was holding on to the heel of his older brother Esau. Just as Emin wanted to give the name Yilmaz to Ismail because of his bravery, Jacob was given his name because he was "grasping the heel” of his brother. But, in addition to "grasping the heel", his name also has a figurative meaning. Jacob also means “supplanter”, that is one who takes another’s office or position by scheming, force or strategy. And unfortunately, Jacob lived up to this figurative meaning. If you will recall in the previous lesson, we read how Jacob deceived his father and received the blessing instead of his older brother. He literally became a schemer and a usurper.
After this deceptive act, Jacob fled from his brother Esau and went to the home of his uncle Laban in Haran. The traditional site of Haran is south of Şanlıurfa in present-day Turkey. He must have repented from his unrighteous actions because one night the Lord spoke to Jacob in a dream and assured him that he would never be left alone. But more importantly, God honored the covenant he had made with Abraham and Isaac and renewed it with Jacob.
To say that Jacob's life was carefree and easy going after he arrived at his relative’s house would not be true. There is a saying in life, "you reap what you sow." Well Jacob sowed deception and he ended up reaping it. Jacob wanted to marry Rachel, the younger of Laban's two daughters. But after working 7 years for her dowry, Laban tricked him into marrying the oldest. Jacob was enraged but Laban conceded and allowed Jacob to marry the youngest as well. But he had to work an additional 7 years for her dowry too. Over the years and in spite of Laban continually trying to deceive Jacob in their business affairs, God continued to bless Jacob. He had children and became quite wealthy in flocks and herds. One day God told him to return to his home country. But Jacob was very scared because he didn’t know if Esau was still angry. What if he still wanted to kill Jacob? What would happen to his family? Like his grandfather did many years before, he obeyed the Lord and started going home. Lets start reading the story in Genesis chapter 32 verses 1-5:
1 Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 And when Jacob saw them he said, This is God's camp! So he called the name of that place Mahanaim. 3 And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom, 4 instructing them, Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: Thus says your servant Jacob, I have sojourned with Laban and stayed until now. 5 I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male servants, and female servants. I have sent to tell my lord, in order that I may find favor in your sight.
Notice how Jacob sends the message to his older brother addressing him as “my lord.” Jacob didn't want to fight or be number one. His message was one of peace and he hoped that Esau would want the same. These verses show that Jacob had changed. The competitive young man seeking to get the upper hand of his older brother was now a mature man of God. Let's look at Esau's answer in verses 6-12:
6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to your brother Esau, and he is coming to meet you, and there are four hundred men with him. 7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed. He divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two camps, 8 thinking, If Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it, then the camp that is left will escape. 9 And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O LORD who said to me, Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good, 10 I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. 11 Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children. 12 But you said, I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.
This is definitely not the prayer of a proud and arrogant man. It is the prayer of a humble man who is understanding the price of deception and sin. It is the prayer of a repentant man. Let's continue with verses 13-24:
13 So he stayed there that night, and from what he had with him he took a present for his brother Esau, 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15 thirty milking camels and their calves, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 16 These he handed over to his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, Pass on ahead of me and put a space between drove and drove. 17 He instructed the first, When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, To whom do you belong? Where are you going? And whose are these ahead of you? 18 then you shall say, They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a present sent to my lord Esau. And moreover, he is behind us. 19 He likewise instructed the second and the third and all who followed the droves, You shall say the same thing to Esau when you find him, 20 and you shall say, Moreover, your servant Jacob is behind us. For he thought, I may appease him with the present that goes ahead of me, and afterward I shall see his face. Perhaps he will accept me. 21 So the present passed on ahead of him, and he himself stayed that night in the camp. 22 The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. 24 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.
Who was this man that began to wrestle with Jacob? What is happening here? Jacob was obviously alone, perhaps he was praying or thinking about his life when suddenly someone grabbed him. At first, he may have thought the intruder was Esau, one of his men, or a bandit. Regardless, it was dark, Jacob was attacked, and considering the day's events he was wrestling for his life. As they push, pull, and roll around, dirt and sand mix with their sweat and their arms became slippery with mud. But Jacob, no matter how hard he tried, couldn't defeat his attacker. Jacob struggled until he couldn't breathe, his lungs felt like they were on fire and his hands were trembling from holding on so long. And then something unusual happened. Let's read about it in verses 25 and 26:
25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, Let me go, for the day has broken. But Jacob said, I will not let you go unless you bless me.
This is no ordinary wrestling match. Jacob at some point in time realizes that he is wrestling with someone who is special. So special that he has the power to bless him, someone from heaven. It is hard to imagine the pain that a dislocated hip would cause, but Jacob continued to hold on to this mysterious person. Who could it have been and what is the blessing that Jacob desired? Perhaps the next thing that is said in verse 27 will answer the question.
27 And he said to him, What is your name? And he said, Jacob.
In other words, "I am the supplanter, the one who deceived my father and stole from my brother." Perhaps Jacob was feeling remorse for his sin and desiring pardon. And this was his way of admitting his sin, expressing his guilt, and asking for God's assurance that he had been forgiven. Otherwise what hope would he have that Esau would not kill him and his family. The Kitabı Mukkades does not say. But let’s read in verse 28 what the mysterious wrestler says to Jacob:
28 Then he said, Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.
This "heavenly" wrestler gave Jacob a new name, which meant “one who overcomes”. Why would this name be given to Jacob? Quite simply, Jacob had struggled for a long time. He suffered the guilt of his previous sins, the pain of being separated from his family, and the deception of his uncle. But during all those years, Jacob accepted responsibility for his actions and begged God to forgive him.
With God's help, Jacob had become a new man.
He was embarking on a new life, with a new identity, and everything about his old self was left behind. He was no longer the "supplanter" but the "overcomer." When the Turkish Republic banned the old names and titles and honors of the Ottoman Empire they too were announcing to themselves and to the world that a change had taken place and the new had replaced the old. They were acknowledging who they were and what their new names stood for.
For most of us, when we hear the name Israel it immediately reminds us of the modern country in the Middle East. But the original concept behind that name was not a political one, but rather a religious one. It signified a person who had overcome his/her sin by faith and repentance. It is true that in the Bible we will read about the “children of Israel” or the Israelites. But in each case, the name was to carry the religious meaning of “one in a covenant-relation with God by faith and repentance.” Jacob was in a covenant relation with God. He repented and God forgave him.
It may be difficult to separate in our minds modern Israel from the concept spoken of here. But God gave the name Israel to Jacob as a compliment, a badge of honor. And it was passed on to his children, and anyone from any nation, who would repent of their sins and wrestle with God for forgiveness. Lets finish the story by reading verses 29-32 in chapter 32:
29 Then Jacob asked him, Please tell me your name. But he said, Why is it that you ask my name? And there he blessed him. 30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered. 31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob's hip on the sinew of the thigh.
There once was a baby born who always smiled. So her parents gave her the name Güler. When she was little, her parents told her the story about how she got her name. After that day, whenever she was sad and someone said her name it reminded her to smile. No matter what the circumstances were, she chose to live up to her name.
After receiving a new name, Jacob probably had a similar experience. Whenever he heard the name Israel, it reminded him of God's forgiveness and his new identity. If you aren't happy with who you are and want a new name, call out to God! Maybe He has a new name for you!
Questions for Discussion:
1) Does your name have a meaning and do you think it fits your experience and personality?
2) What did you see in Jacob's character that showed he had changed?
3) Who do you think that mysterious wrestler was and why?
4) Would you take the name Israel if God gave it to you?
5) How do you "wrestle" with God? What are your struggles, unresolved questions, and deepest desires? Do you share them with God in prayer?